thurst44

That is some dextrous cherry picking there -- "if you take out his two best games and ignore all his receiving stats, the fifth-round rookie had an average year." Also interesting that we played both games against Miami "in Florida" -- we might want to take that up with the schedule-maker as that seems a tad unfair. He also had four rushing TDs in the remaining games, fwiw. And let's give a rookie guard maybe more than a year to decide whether he's good.

He's a pretty wonderful Fred Jackson-esque story and sounds like an easy guy to root for. He didn't make a roster until age 28 and promptly had that season you mention above. Found this article: http://thebiglead.com/2015/07/15/danny-lansanah-tampa-bay-bucs/

Kyle Williams missed one game in the three years prior to 2015, was playing well when he was hurt, and is the same age fellow DT Pat Williams was when we gave up on him before he went to three straight pro bowls. Is it wise to take a DL in this draft, yes, but not if we're at the end of a run on DTs &/or DEs. Draft wisely, not for need.

Ha, I know this is probably a joke, but it does look like he was released, and so he does not count towards compensatory picks.

Ask a Dolphins fan if they think the Fins have improved. The recruiter at my last job was a huge Miami fan and posted on FB the day after they signed Mario, this quote from some area sportswriter: It's hard to figure out the Dolphins, who seem to stick their finger into the socket, get shocked, and wonder how many of their other fingers can fit inside. He then renounced his fandom and proclaimed himself a Bucs fan.

They were hyped by some and not by others, but nowhere near how the Dolphins were treated. Miami was crowned the winner of the off-season quite frequently.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14933355/byron-maxwell-shoulder-injury-cancel-miami-dolphins-philadelphia-eagles-trade-involving-kiko-alonso

Not really, there was a lot more hype on the Dolphins at this time of last year. Bills were more mixed -- some great praise, some critique.

People were also saying there was no way the Bills could sign both Incognito & Glenn...yet here we are. And they did it with the franchise tag which is more expensive.

Out of curiosity, who was? I rarely hear much outside of disdain from them about Rexy. Mike Francesa was cackling when it first seemed we might sign him (and the Jets Marrone).

Agreed. Said this in another thread, but before he went out, opponents were held below 100 yards in four out of six games, and the highest total was 112. In the remaining 10 games, they held opponents under 100 yards once, and every game but two were higher than 112.

To have Evans and Incognito on either side of him? That could be an incentive, and he seems to genuinely love the Bills, Buffalo, and Buffalo fans. But you may be right, too. I would have thought Incognito would be leaning towards returning.

As far as I know, there's no reason we DON'T have the money to lock up Gilmore. His cap would likely go down from the 11m+ it is now with an extension.

However, if they notice the fact that he's not particularly slipping and that the run defense went from double digits every game to triple digits most games after he got hurt, they'll wisely keep him and at most ask him to renegotiate for cap space. There's a reason he's been mentioned as coming back from the first day of the off-season (as opposed to Mario this year or Freddie last year). Cutting him would not be worth it. And, again, if anyone is questioning his age, remember when we let go another DT named Williams at the exact same age (spoiler alert: he went to three straight pro bowls after he left us).

That was a head scratcher. I can usually rationalize any Bills move, but that one baffled me then, and I'm at a loss to guess what was going through Whaley's mind then (other than he has an affinity for underachieving recruits and 1st round picks).

I'm in. It saves quite a bit of money and Carpenter was so unreliable last year.

Yes, I love our double negative standard. The Bills had an "easy" schedule and went 8-8 so they'll be worse. The Jets had a much easier schedule and went 10-6, and they'll clearly be better. We also beat the Jets twice last year, once when they had everything on the line and we had nothing, but that was wholly Rex playing for revenge (so apparently he can coach well when he wants {shrug}) I'm in NYC, trust me, the attitude on 660 The Fan about the Jets is pretty much the same as it is for the Bills here.

This team is about the hardest to gauge at this point. I'm gonna say yes, because I'm a fan, and honestly think they have the talent -- it's just whether some players can come back and Rex Ryan can remember how to coach a game or get the most out of his defense. I have some hope for the former as he has been top 10 most seasons in the past. If Aaron Williams and Kyle Williams come back strong, the line is healthy (Henderson may be better than most people think). and Ryan does with the defense, what he's done with past defenses, instead of whatever the hell was going on last season, and Tyrod is for real, Watkins continues his arc towards beyond real, this could be a breakout season a la the Panthers this year. If everything goes wrong, we could well be talking about who to take with a top pick this time next year.

So sick of this nonsense. No, it's not. I'd bet if you look at EVERY year around this time, you'll see scads of posts about how hard the schedule is. Cards and Seahawks should be very difficult, yes, but the Browns and 49ers may be absolute trainwrecks and the worst teams in football. The problem is, when we look at the schedule, we both presume teams like the Ravens had an off year, while the Bengals or Steelers definitely won't, and the Jags, Raiders, and Rams were clearly underachievers and will be better. We're a bad 8-8 team until we prove otherwise, except with those 7-9 (and 5-11) teams, there's no question they'll be better right away).

First off, I doubt these guys would drop, but this was how it played out with Fanspeak's board. Second, we would need some sort of chaperone or team therapist. 19: R1P19 OLB NOAH SPENCE EASTERN KENTUCKY 49: R2P18 DT ROBERT NKEMDICHE OLE MISS 80: R3P17 OLB SU'A CRAVENS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 118: R4P19 WR LEONTE CARROO RUTGERS 156: R5P17 CB D.J. WHITE GEORGIA TECH 195: R6P17 TE HENRY KRIEGER COBLE IOWA

How do you know he won't consider a small pay cut? Has he said anything (cannot find a link on quick google and google news searches), or is that just speculation. I suspect Kyle will either restructure or accept a cut, if it helps keep other players, but that's just conjecture based on his reputation and apparent demeanor.

So, you are a sage who knows Mario WILL return to form, but Aaron Williams WILL NOT return to form. And ages? Aaron Williams is 25, fercrissake. That is some Jerry Sullivan-esque worth twisted negativity. You also KNOW that McCoy is definitely done. If you match him up with elite RBs from now and from history, he actually fares pretty well in terms of yards and carries, and look at seasons that Lynch and Peterson have had around 30. He was an elite, top 3 back as of last year. Some RBs come back, some don't. As for dime-a-dozen players, Preston Brown has had one excellent season and one disastrous, but it's clearly the bad season which defines him after two years in the NFL. You rail against people for being fans and believing and for being blindly sure, then make your own assumptions as truth.

Actually in some cases, there is. For example, SI wrote an article the other day which used the 168m payroll number as the reason they were way over the cap. Multiple sources have used the higher payroll or the lowest possible salary cap (which is unlikely to happen) to exaggerate the Bills situation because dire is more dramatic. The most likely situation is that they will be flush against the cap. They won't be players in free agency, but they aren't likely to lose players they'll miss (considering the way Mario was playing), and could very well emerge a better team.

I would also miss Easley, but wish he could have stayed healthier. All the late news about Aaron Williams sounds cautiously optimistic to me. They seemed to think it was 50/50, and implied that if it swung in one direction, the injury did not make it any more dangerous to play, but if it leaned in the other direction, he would wisely retire. Hopefully, Whaley's assessment from a few weeks ago was knowing. He's a solid leader and an underrated defender -- it was right around when he and Kyle went down that the running d fell off a cliff. However, I agree, if there's any doubt, he should walk away. This is just based on social media posts and interviews, but I'm a huge fan of Aaron Williams, the person, as well as the player.

George Wilson was 26 when he did exactly that, and he had a couple very good seasons for us, before dropping off a cliff, skillswise. That said, I highly doubt Easley will be doing that, nor do I think he should. If anything, if he comes back, he should be exclusively ST. Honestly, when I've been messing around with that sportstrac salary cap tool, I've pretty much written him off (not that i know anything )...hopefully, that's wrong.